Plan for YMCA property in La Grange prompts questions

June 11, 2014|By Wes Venteicher, Tribune reporter

An artist's rendering shows a residential building proposed as part of a development called "Uptown" on Ogden Avenue near the street's intersection with La Grange Road. Opus Development Company presented the proposal to the La Grange Plan Commission Tuesday. (Opus Development Company, Handout)

Development plans for the site of the former Rich Port YMCA in La Grange got their first public hearing Tuesday night, when the Plan Commission questioned a proposed condominium complex's size, appearance and impact on traffic.

Opus Development Company presented plans to build a five-story, 278-unit residential building called "Uptown" on the corner of Ogden Avenue and La Grange Road that the company expects will cost $65 million or more.

Developers expect the project, which in the future will include a second building for commercial use, to complement La Grange's existing dynamics, said Dean Newins, an Opus senior vice president and architect.

"Our objective is to really extend downtown and to really become that north terminus — uptown, if you will — with the project," Newins said.

The residential building, finished with light-colored simulated wood and brick materials, would run east along Ogden toward Gordon Park, developers said. The side of the building facing the street would not be a solid straight wall, but would be variegated to include vegetation-filled inlets. Its east side would drop in elevation to better fit the slope of the land, developers said.

"The building, in my opinion, is much too bulky," Plan Commission member Jerry Reid told developers.

The building is designed to wrap around a 373-space parking garage, hiding the garage from sight but making the building appear much larger than it otherwise would from the outside, developers said. Additional parking would be added east of the residential building and near the future commercial building.

Commissioners questioned how traffic would flow into and out of the complex, raising concerns about drivers exiting onto the busy routes nearby.

Under the plan, Shawmut Avenue — which accesses La Grange Road north of Ogden — would be widened to include two in-lanes and two out-lanes. A right-turn-only entrance and exit would be added on Ogden Avenue, and developers are looking at creating access from Locust Avenue, which is farther east on Ogden.

The Illinois Department of Transportation has been considering adding a traffic light there and changing the street's configuration, but that has not been finalized.

Several residents of La Grange Tower, an apartment complex just north of the proposed development, raised concerns about noise during construction and the impact of added traffic — including traffic noise — in the future.

Residents who live near Locust Avenue also raised concerns about noise from rumbling trucks and other vehicles that would stop near their homes if a light were added at Locust.

Tim Reardon, who owns a building at 21 S. La Grange Rd., expressed support for the proposal.

"I think it's a great first step and I welcome you guys here," he said.

Opus entered an agreement last year to buy the 4.3-acre former site of the Rich Port YMCA from YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago for approximately $9 million. The Rich Port YMCA building was torn down in 2010 after being closed for several years. Local YMCA officials objected to the sale, saying the land should be used for another Y or the sale proceeds should be dedicated to another local facility. The Greater La Grange YMCA now operates out of an approximately 10,000 square-foot space in La Grange Park and runs programs in other community spaces.

Opus's proposal requests several variances from village zoning codes; including the village's parking standards, its rules for lot coverage, its sign code and other sections.

Commissioner Thomas Williams said any variances should be carefully considered.

"We're starting with a clean slate here for this project, and we really shouldn't sacrifice anything for the residents of the village with these variances," he said.

Developers said they would hone the proposal based on commissioners' comments and return for another presentation, likely at a July 8 Plan Commission meeting.